•14? 



SPEECH *''* 



OP 




• JLJ9 \Jl JLX^VJJJJXIK 
On the Results of the War-The Position of Parties and Heeon 
struetion of Eebel States. 

Delivered in Eonse's Hall, Peoria, Oct. 21, 1865. 



Fellow-citizens: It is 'said that the re- 
bellion is over; that the war is ended. It 
is true that the clash of arms lia<s pnrlpH- 

that the roar of artille y is he^M L ^o e- tZion' "^^^"^TT' ''' ''' """ ""'' 
that the rattle of musketry has c-asedrancl time ' ^'''^'''''''^ *'^« msutut.on fur 
that the flow of blood has been stanched 
but is the war at a i end ? 



until It has ratified the Consticutioi H 
amendment prohibiting slavery for-ver no ' 
until It has, in addition, by its' own Cons i 



— . The armi s of 
the rebpllion have been crushed— annihila- 
ted, by the heroism of our Icyal armies. 
The ^jA^s/ca/ power of the rebels has been 
broken ; but has the demoniacal spirit of 
rebellion and treason which fed ^nd direct 
ed the rebellion been sub'ued? Until we 
can say that it has, we c;:nnot truly sny 
that the war has ended. The rebels, foiled 



Beiore the rebdlion, Congress north 
President had the power (and by power 1 
mean the Constitutional power) to interfcr 
with slavery, nor anyother purely local ir.- 
stiuitiou within atjy of the States; but bov 
IS It now, so far as the States ar • conrerne:' 
which constituted the so-called Confederate 
Crovernmeat? Has Congress acquired ^la- 
extension of powers, or simply called, into 
exercise a latent power by reason of the rebel 






summon all their energies to accompl sli the 
same object by th^-ir political power. If we 
suffer them to accomplish this design, the 
war will have been in vain. Better, far 
better, to have acknowledged the right of 
secession, and tjie rebel government,'at the 
outset, and have saved the enormous outlay 
of money and the shedding of so much pre 
Gious blood. We must not fail to gather! 



of the rebellion, and the chai-actei- of the 
late Confederate Government. 

It is admitted by all candid men, that tho 
Southern people rebelled and inaugurate'.! 
war without justifiable cause. The'^peoph- 
of those States wl^ich adopted secession or- 
dinances were never denied by the Govern- 
ment the exercise of any of- their Constitu- 
tional rights. They were never opr.resse(?. 



the fruit of onr great victory. It is notJThey were^ never\lenQ";;;;.7tior J 
that we have g^rou>,d the rebeUion Jo own aggrandizement. . Thc^^^^^^^^^ 



powder — we must prevent its return. We 
have the power and the legal constitutionl 
right to do it, and posterity will justly hold 
us responsible for a second rebeilion should 
we fail now to thoroughly eradicate from 
the people of the rebel States the spirit of 
rebellion, secession and treason, which lay 
at the foundation of their late. fiendish 
struggle. 

This spirit of rebellion is thq offspring of 
slavery. Slavery, then, must be abolished 
in every State, and freedom must be univer- 
sal and eternal. There must be no power left 
in any State to re-establish slavery. Ko 
-rebel State must be restored to "harmoni- 
ous relations" with the general govcrumenf 



of com2>laint. 

They rtbellpd in favor of the d-snot^sta 
of slavery. They hwd no fault to find with 
the govennment. Ic had done all that topy 
had asked— the government had do idess 
in aata.goiiisra to their ide.is But thero waj 
a power within lh,;j jurisaiction of the gov- 
ernment that gave tnem cause of Hlirm-^ 
rhf.t filled them with an indescrirabie ter- 
or : 'and that power. was the power of the 
Northern idea, in fuvor r.f universal liberty 
This is what " precipitated tbe cottor 
States inta revolution." The idea enter 
lained by the rcbebs that slavery wcg a di- 
vine institution, met an uiifliGching oppo- 
nent in the idea ente^t:^iaed by the loya 






men of the North, that liberty was a divine 
inatitution, ar.d that slavery waa a mon- 
strous and unmitigated evil. The idea en- 
tertained by the rebels that siavery was a 
blessing; to lbe?;black and white races, 
especially the black, met an uncompro 
mising opponent in the idea entertained by 
the loyal men of the North that slavery was 
a hideous curse to the black and white 
races, especially to both. With these 
ideas on the one side, and the additional 
idea that secession was a constitutional 
r'ght, the rebels went to war to overthrow 
the Union and confirm slavery; and the loyal 
liberty-loving people of the North accepted 
the issue and went to war to maintain the 
Union and to confirm liberty. This war. 
then, has been in a great measure one of 
ideas. The rebels threw down the gage 
of battle for their ideas — the patriots took 
up the gage for their ideas, and before we 
can properly say that the war is ended, our 
ideas must triumph over their ideas. We 
may demolish the windmill, but the wind 
I may remain. Our artillery, our muskets, 
our arms may triumph over theirs, but their 
ic'.eas may remain. We may win the physi*. 
oil victory, but they may win the victory 
of ideas. The physical tvar may be ended, 
bat the war of ideas is upon us stiil, and in 
this conflict vfe must be triumphant or 
those grand victories won at Doneison, 
Shilob, Vicksburg, New Orlerns, Gettys 
burg. Mission Ridge, Chattanooga and in 
the dreary depths of the Wilderness, by the 
invincible and unconquerable heroes o*f 
the Union, will turn to bitter ashes on our 
lips. The army has done its part, and done 
it nobly and well. Now let Congress do 
its part as well, and the whole country will 
bo covered with glory, and the grand re- 
public will be radiant "with univers'l lib- 
erty. [Applause.] 

In the latter part of the year 1861, and 
Parly in the ye'ar 1862, most of the slave- 
hjlding States in their several conventions 
declared that their rela-ions to the govern- 
ment of the United States bad cessed: They 
piocetded at occe.to form what they term-'* 
ed the "Southern Confederacy." They form 
ed and adopted a constiiution. They elec- 
ted a President and a Congress. They es>' 
tsblished a judiciary. They raised an sncy 
;ind created a navy. They possessed legis 
lative executive nnd judicial powers. So 
tir fiB forms were concerned, they made un^ 
10 themselves a po^enment, and ha-d v«e 
"let them alcne" in their iniEncy, it would 
1 em.iin "even utto ibis day." Thpy declar- 
ed that they were a tcpardite and independ- 
ent government, and, to maintain tbis de- 
claration, they summoned immense armies 
:i nd such navies aa they had to their aid. In 
f^ct, they did all that a recogrnized End in 
(lipendf-nt govrrament could have done. 
They irsned letters of marque aud r; p;-is»l, 



and their pirates were recognized and pro- 
tected by foreign governments ag privateers. 
They claimed the character and the rights 
pertaining and belonging to a de facto gov- 
ernment, and this claim was acceeded to, 
not only by foreign governments, but by our 
own. They claimed the character and rights 
belonging to a belligerent power, and this 
claim was allowed them by our own and 
foreign governments. They claimed that 
they were an alien enemy to the United 
States, and our government acceeded to this 
claim, also. All these demands were acquis 
essed in by our government during the con- 
tinuance 0/ actual war; but now that they 
have been whipped and subjugated, they 
wish to deny the real character they made 
for themselves during four years of cruel, 
bloody and atrocious war, and now ask 
that they may be regarded merely in the 
light of "wayward sisters," eo that they may 
be permitted to creep back into the Union 
which they moved heaven and eartii to de- 
stroy, without losing any of their rights, or 
incurring any of the forfeitures or penalties 
of their treason and rebellion. And that 
same copperhead-democratic, party, which 
sympathized with themduring the war, and 
did so much to aid thc-m, and discourage 
and embarrass us — that same party which 
sainted Vallandingham, and traduced and 
slandered our true and noble-hearted Lin- 
coln — that same party which despised our 
soldiers and called them hirelings and mur- 
derers; that belittled our victories and mag., 
aified the victories of the rebels ; that swore 
we could never whip the chivalrous South, 
and that we ought not to whip them ; that 
threatened that they "would start a fire in 
the rear of our troop8"(of course ihey would 
never start one in the tront) — that same 
party that declared in their Cbicxgo Con- 
vention that the war was a failure, and 
loudly called for a cessation of hostilities 
and an armistice, (at a time, too, when final 
speedy and complete victory was at hand, 
and they knew it,) so that they might again 
embrace their Southern brethren in a "con- 
vention Of all the Slates ' — that same party 
which resisted the drafi^, and shot down 
Provost Marshals and soldiers detailed to 
enforce the law; that organized the Knights 
of the Golden Circle in aid of the rebellion; 
that refused, in ■ oar State and all other 
States controlled by them, to allow the sol- 
diers to vote in the field, and did m^ny 
other outrageous and detestable things, all 
against our government and our army, and 
in aid of the savage rebellion — I have not 
the time to enumerate them all — lend wings 
to your imaginations and darkness to your 
souls and you will not do thim injustice; — 
this party, of course, asks that they, 
the rebels, be so regarded, and restored to 
all their original rights under "the Consti- 
tution as it ia and the Union as it wag,"-— 



f^^^^^'^Tthei^^^^ to all their former 

onginal rights within the Uniorf, as thof^h full ^.In i^'^ T ^^"^^ '« ^^ ^^^ea into 
there had been co rebellion '„ j^ ,^ "" fellowship; that there is to h« r,„^ 

Confederate .o^ern^e^t'^^ '1 ^Tau^s 'f '^"1!:^/^^^^^^ ^"'^^°^ between ^o^a^r^n^d 
So far as our rights, and their rights un PhfXh ,^°'r^° Patriot and rebel? If 
der the law are concerned, I have no dnnh'Jh " ^^' *^^" '"^ ^^^ s«red name of the 

butwebavetherieht to rLt Ihem as an mn?/r •"' -"^ '^' ^^P^^lic who are no^ 
alien enemy, conquered by the Hn?*^ "''^u"°S '°*° impalpable dust on tbi 
States government; that they have nnli-"^ ^'*."^ ^'^'^^ °^^^^^^ 
the rights belonging to the vtViZdTnJ pSt btl ^'^ l'^ "^^ to wash the 
we have all the rights belong^Ho thp FA nf ^'°n^ ^^"^ *^'^' traitorous hands 
Victors Had the rebellion beeT^o fn.S Lee th""b'.L^' ^^'i' "^'^^ shudder to 

nificant in point of numbers and power tl^ft on th.t ^' ^' ^''''' '' °°t yet green 
our government could have supCs'ed thell^r^'''. ^.'^i^ «» th. earth abo'e 
with only ordinary effort, and wifhff *t u '^ covered with verdure before von 

space of a few months, anrhld'norb enT'onTof ?."' ""^^ ''''''• [Sensation J" 
compelled from the necessity of the case ^o„«,-! .^^ ^^^ ^^^^t^st ;danger8 which beest 
enter into a cartel for the exchange oTmilu' rlVf^r.^^^^^ ^^''^ ^o bring,, 

oners, and had not from the same^ausfrT withX ''';°'° "barmonious relation"" 
spected their flags of truce, and aSo'ro^irha^Sf '?^ government. Thev ought 
the like cause recogn zed their so called thevf! ti^e to cool, to reflect, to 'repent, 
pirates as privateers, Then the rights of h. Jn F ^°^' "' ^'^^ '^'^^^^^^ for four years 

uou a ler he had eaten of the husks The 
ngbt of self defence carries with it, and in! 
plies, the nght of selfpreservation. We must 
make the future secure. [Applause.] Te 



as alien enemies 
jugated, would 

case the government 'couid only ""try 
the offenders under the law of the land S 
their treason. They could not be treated 
as flhen enemies under the laws of war 
Vattel and other eminent writers on the- 

thrr:Lryr:ti'S^e wZ;etfstrt:tlr'V^^ ^rresecure.-[A"p7i;u3;'.i T, 
mere rebels and become public enemies en wJ' ^'n f '^' '^^^"^°" ^« '^'^ wellstaod 
titled to belligerant rights. Th° T.'l'?!^", ^^^ ^^^« .°o ^ove. We must root up 



titled to belligerant rights. This deDend.Knd '^Z "''''*' u"" '"°'^' ^^^ ™"8t i„„. ^„ 
upon the number and power of he rphpfo .-, 'K°^ ^'^ causes of rebellion. This 
If the rebellion be suffiXtly powerfal too'aJv bf "^""V^"' of State Sovereignly mu 
make head against the govefn^^rt b ia^feir n^'"'' ^^°°- tbe relics of the 

able to dispute the occupation oTih; te4f & 1 TVh ^«'. not confound State S.ver! 
torywitb the government by tU f^xe o^ i^ve/.r i^'-rl" ''^^'' '^^^ distinction 
arms, then the lawsof humanity and the law' ^n.^ '''^- ^^' ^''"^ Sovereignty meacs 
of nations declare that the Jebels shal bTlfs ^ 0"",' P^^-^^c^^^roHed power. There 
reated as a public enemy, entitled to JelLf^ limitation .ot power State Sovei^ 
hgerant rights ; that their prisoner sSiffi n' '^'' the Sta-e is supreme; 
be treated as prisoners of TJ-notfsof^^^^^^^^^^ 
rebels d re.pect shall be paVtothetr ess oT' K^\r.^^'r5^^-P^^ ' 



TcU^}^ J f-"""^-^= 01 war — not as 

rebels-and respect shall be paid to their 
flags of truce. The war then, when it had 
assumed these proportions and aspects, 
should m all respects be conducted as 
though the parties to it had originally been 
independant nations. & j- c" 



cession If then Sovereignty belongs to 
the State we have no nation, we are mere- 
ly a people without a nationality. By State 

Th.!^-! '' ''''^'' *^^ Constitution, 
ihese >7^A^5 must remain inviolable. State- 



We could not try' the rebel nrivateers i,^,f'^'''^,^^* """^^ remain inviolable. State- 

which we capturedL piracy on' the high Lt/^^^^^^^^^^ ""' x""" '' ^^^^« ^««^r^«'I 

seas, because they were nrotectpd Htt iptt^,.o rvu ' 

Of marque and re'prisal f%m tte'rebVll^ tion'purfSwTd %' '-^"^'f '^°°^^'^-«- 
ernment. The war between the government Sf^^prhi.T! °°f \'' *^*' ^^^ ^^bel 
and the rebels was carried on in mosfre fh't/hp , ' i""*^^ 

spects, and could lawfully have SeeTin a T - harmonin'^ ' r "^^ ^' brought into 
as though we had been at war with Li Lpn, h * '^^^^'^'^f with the govern- 
land. During the progress of the r-^hPlliTrKV^u^ represented again in Congress- 
the rebels had absolutdfuo rigfc Jl^t; F^^^^^^^^ -A the 

our Constitution. They tad only snoh f '„''^'"'° « ^^''.^^> ^bat all interference by 
rights as they were entftled to uiir the ndTfTtrV.^'^^!;^'^-^^^'^"'^!^ ^^-^^^J 

nary power dissipated, is it to bttldThit Jit. To^iJd ttif^^fan^^T l^^f;,! ^^ 



'ok forward "to the good time coiniQg",lkind. Tbey Langed Jobn Brown, but his 
hen Davis anuBucbanan shall shake handslideas went ." roarching on." They mur- 



Lrain over '-the Consii'ution as it is and the 

"nioa as it ws." The other is to treat the 

r b(?ls as an alien enemy — a public enemy. 

^'le rebels compel'; d us to traat them as 

I! ch for four years How tben can they 

'jriinlain if we should compel them to ac- 

rpt the legitimate results of the character 

'bey madft for themselves? Confiscate the 

•states of the leading rebels, and out cf the 

roceeds pay the national debt, and increase 

he peusiotis of the soldie.s and the widows, 

tnd create a fuod for Ihnir crphans j_flp- 

plause]; and only lestore thj rebel people 

■/.'hen they ure willing to admit thetriurjph 

of the ideas upon which the war was prose^ 

cutsd upon our part, and to incorporate them 

■jto their organic l:vws The Union partj 

3 in favor of this plar. ^ 

Congress has completejurisdiction over the 

Stale;! I'-tely in rebrl'i jn, and should see to 

-t that only reiubli<aa governments, in form 

-ad in f iC, sbnil b-e establ saed thensio uu 

:er the consii'U'ior.; and Congress should 

iforce therein the immutable truths "that 

:'! men are created equal, aud endowed by 

heir Creator with certain inalienable 

' ights — ^that among these are life, liberty and 

■i.e puisuit of hvppiness" [App'ause.] 

' is the bounden duty of Congress undtr 

:ie constitution to, guarantee a republican 

'rra ol goverrment lo every State in the 

!,nion, or which may hereafter be admitted 

,uto the Uaion. 

Congress must require in the reconstruc- 

:on of any rebel State the abfolute ester- 

linationof slavery, and also the barbarisms 

- slavery. There must be no reconstruc- 

n thai does not recognize the immutaile 

uth that all men are equal belore the 

I ^. The application cf this truth, as a 

adamental principle, in tbe government O' 

■ 1^ Catholic Church, is the true secret of its 

•>\ver. Ira members are all equal — in the 

■larcb. Tbe prince and tbe peassn" — tbe 

ientatioufi rich and the hurable poor, are 

' eqnals there, without regard lo color. 

' le by side ih-y kaetl befora the same 

■i<v. Thetheoiy of ibe Britibb governraen' 

in Hiira-ionssm to this priocipie. Hence 

- r.;iiffer:ngs, m-iseries a'/i distractions ot 

1 ihd. Tbera roust not be one law for 

: f?hite aud-atjother law for ihe black 

T. The law that protfcts or punishes 

' ine, rinist protect or puaish the otlser. 

ir, was not till we had been engaged in 

; •gigantic struggle for nearly two years 

't the people got their cye^ open to 

; great fact that itie war was in the mam 

." of ideas. The South, blinded by sl.ave- 

and pBSsioa and malice, grasped the 

•'ord to fight against the onward march of 

! ral Ideas, as though such ideas couid be 

■-)_yed o-" stayed in tbeir onward niarch 



dered Elijah P. Lovejoy, but his ideas were 
immortal; [Applause.] and ihey have been 
" marching on" for thirty ■ years, battling 
oppression, stiperstition antl tyranny, and 
they will go foiward to the grand day of 
their final triumph. [Applause.] The rebels 
resorted to physical means — they erected 
harriers to oppose tbe progress ot ideas. 
Their physical means have been destrayedi 
their barriers have been broken down, and 
the ideis, gatharing strength from the pow- 
er of the opposition, went " marching on " 
[applause] — aud they will march on till 
that great and divine truth is recognized 
and acquiesced in — that "all men are cre- 
ated equal," and that equal and exact jus- 
tice shall be meied out to all men. [Ap- 
plause.] Now that we have learned, at so 
great cost, this fact, there must be no let- 
ting up — no backing do-vn, until we have 
m ifie this nation one homogeneous p Ople, 
with governments fjunded on the natural 
fquality of ail men. [Continued applause ] 
During the progress of the w.ar, Prttijent 
Lincoln, as a necessary means for trhe sup- 
pression of the slaveholders' rebellion, is- 
sued a proclamsiiion declaring their slaves 
forever free. God bles-^ his gaicttd memory 
for that pr clamation ! [Applause] We 
gave the freedmen muske's, and they tought 
with heroic vulor against their late masters. 
They have won their share of the glory in 
the conquest of the South. They fought 
well, and there was not a disloyal one 
ami ng them them all. With insolent, per- 
fidious and cruel masters aud traitors around 
•isd over them, their hearts were undaunted^ 
ind they rendered us all the aid in their 
power. They g«ve us, free'y, inVf»luatde 
service iu maintaining the Uoion; and the 
government, in return, gave :hem that di- 
vine, but loLig-d'.-ferred boon — liberty. And 
;iow the government must defmd and pro~ 
'ect them in the enjoyment of that liberty. 
[Applause] It. must not leave it. to the 

■clemenijy ' of their late masters, who 
would, unrestrained, forge fcr them the 
'.{ailing fetters and shackles, and- iratupre 
their sacred rig.bts into the dust. Woe be 
ro this nation if it turns a deaf ear lo the, 
voioe of humanity and justice I The gov- 

rnment is bourd to do whatever is neces-. 
'Ssary for their protectiou. !•■ roust not 
leave them to the " tender mercicci " of the. 
rebels. 

In order to accomplish thi^, one of three 
things, iu my opinion, snouid be done. The 
oaais of representation should be changed 
trom population *to electors, so that the 
representatives in Congress shall be ap- 
uortioned among the sevtr il S>a:e8 accord- 
ing to tbe number of electors tor the mc;!; 
numerous branch i f the State Legislatures. 



e civilizaiioa aud elovauoa of maii^'.Oth-.Twific, en the prtisent basis, we w-iU 



reward the Soiit'a fori s treason and perfidy, never been out of, but are 8*ill in the Union, 



by givirg tbem some fifteea adoitiooMl Con 
gres3mfn Tbis chnnge can bp ticcomp'i-hed 
by amending the C 'nsuiuiion. Or, if Con- 
gress will disfranchise the rebel?, and make 
loyally the condition *"or the exercise of the 
elective iranchise — all will be well. But 
if all rebels are allowed to vote, tnere will 
be DO enduring peace for the country nor 
safety for the Union or the Preedmpn. Con- 
gress may exercise this power so long as the 
rebel S'.ates remain in a qi^asi teiritorial 
condition; but when they are "reconatuct 
'ed" and readmitted, then this power 
ceases, and a reconstructed S^ate will pos 
Bess the same power over the elective fran 



is correc*, where does tht Prrsideni get the 
authority and the right to a;-.p"ini- M.lit-iry 
or Provisional Governors fmr such S:atc9? 
What necessity was there fir such States 
to hold conventions and repeal their ordin- 
ances of secession, or declare them void, 
and frame and adojM: new cousiituiioue ? 
Why is it that the Pi-fsident does not ap- 
Doint a Provisional Governor for Illinois ? 
You answer, Illin'-,i-> has- always been a loyal 
State within ike Un'on, and bus the right to 
elect ber own Governor; and should the 
President interfere you would denoucce it 
as a usurpation and an onirage. States 

„.. ^...w ,.„„- wtC/jm the Union -ire fqit'ils. ThePresident 

chise that Illinois does. It is difficult to has no more power over one than another. 
say, at this t\me. what measures are neces- If r^outli Carolina is a Stave withiu the Uii- 
sarv to 8-cure liberty and jistice to the ion, it is within the Union uader the fe'ou 



Freedmen ; but whatever is necessary will 
be d ,ne. [Applanse.] 

After a careful investigation of all the va- 
rious plans p"ouOied for reconsiructins: the 
rebel State;', I 'see no one wLish presents so 
few difiSculties, or which promises results 
so satisfactory, or which so fully guaran 
tees the preservation of the Uiion, the es 
tablishment of enduring pe:ice on the basis 
ot universal libettj and justice, — as that 
plan which propoises that Congress shall 
declare that tbe rebels are alien enemies — a 
conquered public euemy. I have shown 
the legal r ght in Congress to exercise this 
power; and that it ought to exercise it, I 
have but /little doubt. Had the United 
States been at war with' Great 
Britain, and had cur armies driven the last 
vettige of B.-itisb authority (rom the Arxieri 
can coDli'ieat — in such CMse, how would 
we treat 'h-. provinces of Canada? There 
id but one answer to the question — simpij 
as alien euemi-s. Congress would make 
laws and estnblish governments for ihem. 
Tae Canadians would be entitled only t-^ 
the rights of the vanquished. Why, then, 
should we ire^t witu' such tlemcLCy and 
tenderness those, who, owing allegiance to 
this f ovtr -meat, fores-.rore rbeir allt'giiince, 
aac made war upon us for lour long years; 
to desrroy a govtrnment which had never 
denied tbim a right, or scarcely a favor? 
By declaring them aiiea enemies, and ex- 
cludiDg them fro,m partictphtion in the gov- 
ernment — tsfhose very existence would b^ in 
iiDmiuent danger by restoring th tn that 
political p.>wer which they vyould use onl.v 
tor its deatiuciion — Congress would 
make laws for their rej^uiation until 



stit'ition, and is t'le equal of any of the 
Sates, and is entitled to all rhe Constitu- 
tional rights of any other St-ite — among 
which are the rights to elect a GdVeruor, a 
Legislature, seed Representatives to Con- 
gress, and min^ige generally its own local 
institutions in its own way under the Cju- 
sti ution. "It follows, then, that the Presi- 
dent, in his exercise of authority over the 
Southern States, 's acting upon the assump- 
tion that the rt-beis are alien enemies — a 
conquered enemy, and entitled only to such 
rights Hit are accorded by civilized nations 
to a sui'jngated psople, and in this I en- 
dorse bim most fully. 

Since the last adjiurnment of Congress 
the militiry power of the rebellion received 
its death blow. la the recess of Congress 
he PreLddeot found himself with a con- 
quered people on his hands; and from the 
veri nec-ssity of the case; as the Chief Ex- 
ecutive of the Nation, and the Commander-- 
in-chief of its armies, he has assumed the 
direction and control of affairs within the 
rebel States. He has conferred upon them 
the right to hold conventions with the view 
'o ihsir rcstbr.Ht'on ■ as States wilhin the 
Union. If they prove themselves worthy of 
this confi.lence, and of the confidence of the 
whole people, as regards their loyalty, and 
their devotion ' to republican government, 
and republican institutioas, and to the prin- 
ciples ol jistice between min and man, it 
is expected this Congress will re-admi- 
them into the Union. But if the Soutbera 
people, !:iy .heir acts, tv.il to i:\spirethis 
confidt^nce. Congress will consider this "ex- 
periment of recoustriiC'ion" a_ failure, and 
^^ject their claim for admission, and hold 



such time as they could bs safely trustedltbem in abtyanca until such time as thejr 
with the exercise of the functions p-rtain can be restored with safety to the nation's 
ing to civil government. Then they would honor and its perpetuity. 
n;tiurally and riiihiiuily come into "harmo The coppsrbeads say ihat it is safe to 
nious relations" with the genoral govern- Tust |hei« ufw. I must confess, howcTer, 
ni.M)-; upon an equ li ,o>tacg with the otherjthat that the> have given but little evidence 
>.{;.. t„g I to justify the asseition. In none 

if \be idea that the S Ufa ira States hscvel of tbeir StatBB fcare tbey r»tiflcd 



the constitutional amendment abolishinglstrength. Let us not lead them too soon 
slavery. They have not recognized the to the pillars of the temple of liberty. It is 



freedman as possessing "any rights which 
the white man is bound to respect." In 
Bome of their conventions they have abol- 
ished slavery— 6y words. By the same 
power they can re-establijh it to-morrow. 
If they are sincere in regard to the abolition 
of slavery, why do they not ratify the con- 
stitutional amendment abolishing and pro 
hibiting slavery forever? The reason is 
obvious. If that amendment should be 
ratified and become a part of the Constitu- 
tion, their power over the subject would 
cease forever. This is just what they are 
determined to defeat. 

In the South Carolina Convention a reso- 
lution was introduced to the effect that a 
committee be appointed to wait upon the 
President and ask him to pardon "our 
former noble and beloved chief magistrate, 
Jefferson Davis, who is now langu shing in 
prison, while the fanatics of the North, not 
satisfied with the wide-spread ruin and deso- 
lation which they have caused, are shriek- 
ing for his blood." Mr. Coleman, late 8 
Captain in the rebel army, asserted in thf 
Alabama Convention that "the morality ot 
slavery need not be discussed before a con- 
vention of Southern gentlemen. He read 
his Bible, and he conscientiously believed 
in slavery." 

In Louisiana there is a military school 
which has been, until recently, aad since 
the conquest of that State, under the super- 
intendence of Union professors ; but the 
rebels having resumed partial control of the 
State, at once deposed the Union professors, 
and installed three rebel officers in their 
stead. Is this calculated to inspire our con- 
fidence? The Democratic Convention— 
what democracy .'—lately held in Louisiana, 
passed almost unanimously, and with great 



for you, ih^ people, to determine which of 
these parties you will support — which of 
these parties you will trust with the destiny 
of the republic. If you are patriotic and 
honest, you will sustain that party which 
will the most certainly promote the pros- 
perity of the country, sustain its honor and 
aggrandize its glory. 

In order that you may form a correct 
judgment of the character and merits of the 
two parties that ask for your support, it is 
well to review the history and' the record 
they have made for themselves, and by it 
let them be judged, their character 
and merits estimated, and their 
claims upon you for support be determined. 
In 1860, the Democratic party was ia^power, 
and had control of the general government. 
It was then that the Southern leaders of the 
Democratic party plotted their foul treason 
and concocted their schemes of rebellion. — 
It was then that Buchanan, the Chief Exec- 
utive of the nation, and the head of the 
Democratic party, proclaimad to the world 
that the United States Government possess- 
ed no power to coerce a State. He saw and 
estimated the powers of the General Gov- 
ernment only through the heresy of " State 
Sovereignty. ' With him and the Democratic 
party State Sovereignty was superior to and 
mightier than National Sovereignty. With 
him and his party the Uuion still existed 
under the old articles of confederation; and 
so ignoring our present Constitution, and 
virtually denying its existence, he leaned 
back in his easy chair, and complacentlv 
looked on while traitors combined for the 
destruction of the Union. The Southern 
portion of this Democratic party, with a 
unanimity rarely seen, jointd in the tn-ason 
of their lead-rs and waged war, barbarous 



r ---_ .,-.-„. ^„u».j,, „uu „iiu gi-eai oi lueir leau-^rs ana wagea war, barbarous 

applaase, a resolution calling upon the war, for four years against the Govern- 
i-resident to pardon Jeff Davis. They ment, and at last, being overpowered, they 
might,_ with equal propriety and fitness, have sullenly accepted the inevitable — 
have included the name of the infamous Shall I recur to the sufferings— sufferings 
j5^" , . unprecedented, borne with a heroism un- 

ineseare but a few of the evidences paralleled in the world's historr, by the he- 
showing the sentiments and feelings of the roic and immortal defenders of the Union'' 
bouthern people. When you have over- No language can portray the trials, the 
come and disartned the assassin, will you hardships and atrocities they endured — 
restore htm his dagger ? When you have, They bared their breasts to the relentless 
CHUght the incendiary, will you load him storms of war; they went forward in the 
down with combustibles and let him go ?:face of certain death;— they fell by thous- 
When you have overcome an enemy, equal- jands, on the blood-soaked fields of battle;- 
ea only in his gigantic power by his savagejthey languished and died by thousands in 

CrueltV. will VOU relp.H.sn him onrl Qi,«vv,.,„. *!,_ ci„....i ^ _• _ "^rrii . , 



cruelty, will you release him and augment 
his power, so that in the next conflict he 
may be the victor and you the vanquished ? 
Yon will not, if you are wise. When 
you have the monster down, beep him di)wn, 
until he is rendered powerless for further 
mischief. [Applause.] Like Sampson, they 
have been shorn of their power, and are 



».ori,o«o 1 •• f-..-., o,uu aic jjiausc.j ine Diooa 01 out 

peruaps, onl3^, awwtmg a renewal of their'cries to Heaven against it 



thi Southern prison pens. The rebels cal- 
led to their aid fierce blood-hounds and 
remorseless starvation, and by starvation 
thousands upon thousands of our brave boys 
faded away into the silent land. And now 
we are asked to trust and restore these de- 
mons in human form. God forbid! [Ap- 
plause.] _ The blood of our martyred heroes 



This was the work of tte Southern wing 
of the Democratic party. Let us now look 
at the North rn wing of that party, and see 
the part it has plaved m this bloodiest of 
tragedies. It declared that the National 
Go ernment coiild not coerce a State back 
in the Union. Had this doctrine been ac- 
quiesced in, we would to-day be but a dis- 
membered and dishonor d remnant of our 
former selves. They declared at their 
Springfield Convention, that a further pros 
ecution of the war only tended to anarchy 
and misrule, and the subversion of the Gov- 
ernment, and that the war ought to stop.— 
Had their voice been heeded — had their 
opinions been adopted by the people, the 
Southern Confederacy would to-day have a 
name and place among the nations of the 
earth. At their Chicago convention in 1864 
they declared the experiment to restore the 
Union by war a failure, and they demanded 
an armistice with the rebellion. Had the 
people concurred in these opinions — had the 
people acquiesced in this declaration and 
demaud, our country would ni>w be covered 
wth ruin and with infamy, and JeflF. Davis 
would this day be sitting in Richmond in the 
insolence ■ f his pride and power, as th- 
head of the slaveholders' empire. But thank 
Gi)d, the undaunted loyal people of the 
country could not be deceived. [Applause.] 
They pressed onward in the grand work of 
maintaining republican government, until 
Victory crowned our arms, and the old 
starry banner of our fathers floated in tri 
umph again over every inch of American 
soil. [Applause.] And now will you re- 
store this Democratic party to 
power? will you bring these 

two wings together? If you want the re- 
bellion and slavery to triumph, you will. If 
you want the Union and liberty to triumph, 
you will not. [Applause.] 

In making your choice as between these 
parties you will remember that the South- 
ern wing of this democratic party, after 
having practiced every atrocity that the in- 
genuity cf hate and envy could devise; 
after having been beaten by the sword to 
which they had appealed, standing in 
the presence of universal defeat — stuDg to 
madness, they appealed from the sword to 
the dagger of assassination, struck down 
the chosen magistrate of a nation and car 
ried us with one blow back to the dark 
ages of the world. The true people took 
the great martyr and buried him in their 
hearts, and there he will remain forever; 
and they have sworn that the principles for 
which he died shall be adopted by the 
Southern people before they shall again be 
come part and parcel of this gloiious nation. 
[Tremendous and long continuedapplause] 
Can you support a party that sustains, lu 
an adjoining State, a paper published by a 
democrat, which makea nse of the follow- 



ing language in a late isgae in refereccB to 
The last and most diabolical act of the re- 
beli'on : 

"Where isLiacoln, the joking patron saint 
"of niggerism, who owes so much to John 
"Wilkes Booth, and who is well nigh for- 
"gotten already, with hardly a dozen in the 
"land to revere his memory? 

"Where is Chase? 

"Where is Brough? 

"Where is that crowd of conatitntion- 
"breaking, law'^despiaing fungus ? 

"Gone or going, into oblivion, leaving & 
"nation in tears — a country in ruins — a 
"once hippy peop'e In debt and taxation—- 
"a treasury once well filled with coin empty, 
"and thousands of millions ferns to pay. 
"They have gone to perdition, and their vic- 
"tims are many, They have gone from their 
'field of power. 

"Right is again triumphing. 

"A Statesman instead of a Clown is now 
"President, and the element which two 
"years since said a President can do no 
"wrong is now arraying itself aj^ainst the 
•'head of the nation, and trying to drive him 
"from the constitution behind which he is 
•'entrenched. 

''We deprecate assassination, yet we feel 
"to thank God fo*" calling Lincoln hom«, 
"wherever that home may be." 

Great God! how thankful I am that I waa 
not a Democrat daring this war 1 [Ap- 
plause.] 

Let us now for a moment turn to the 
record of the Union party — a party com- 
posed of men from all the old parties — 
men who loved their country better thaa 
their party. They denied that the govern- 
ment had no power to coerce a State. 
They denied that the further prosecution 
of the war tended only to anarchy and mis- 
rule and the subversion of the goverment. 
They denied that the experiment of war to 
restore the Union was a failure. They de- 
clared there should be no cessation of hos- 
tilities, no armistice with rebellion, and 
no "convention of all the States" until the 
rebels had laid down their arms. And to 
maintain these issues on their part, they 
firmly supported the war measures of the 
administration and pressed forward in the 
face of the most malignant and unscrupu- 
lous political opposition ever encountered 
in any government. 

The year 1862, a year made memorable 
hy our many reverses in the field, waa a 
year of uncommon prosperity to the Demo- 
cratic party. Their political victories were 
in the ratio of our military defeats. In 
that year they thought us defeated because 
we were prostrated ; but liSe Atreus, the 
fabled son of the Earth, we were renewing 
our strength. [Applause.] We suffered 
reverses, but were not discouraged. 
Gairing energy anS deterra'nation from 



8 



adversity, and feeling: that cooscionsness of 
power which springs from battling for the 
right — inspired by the justness and grandeur 
of our cause, we pressed onward until we 
have established the sublime truth, declared 
by our great manyr, "that government of 
the people, by the people, and for the 
people, shall not perish from the earth." 
[Applause.] 

This is one of the mnjeslic results of the 
war. 'J'o even refer to the thousard deeds 
of onr Union partv is impcssiblehere. You 
are familiar with its history and its record. 
You know with wiiat an energy of devotion 
it has maintained every thing that is good, 
and condemnei and opposed everything 
that is wrong. It is and has been the party 
of progress. It has and will devote itself 
to the elevation atid amelioratio'i ol 
mankind. And while our brs,y(; soldiers 
have been fighting and dying for tbe 
mKintena.nce of the princples of our 
t'srfy, you have sustained and de 
feoded them, and rendered them every aid 
in your power. You have been their real 
friends. 

The democratic party hypocriti- 
cally pretend that thpy can see no 
good results cf tbe war. Let us see. The 
war has given liberty — thst inherent biith- 
right of every man, without distinction ot 
color or race — to four millions of people, 
who had been held in a bondage only 
equaled in its relpntless cruelty by the sav 
age ferocity of its mastejs. It has forever 
destroyed the occupation of the aucii 'caer 
in human flesh and blood. It has rendered 
profitless the breeding of bloodhoutids. It 
has secured to the negro the endearments 
and enjoyments of the family altar. It has 
guaranteed corapen.sation to labor. It has 
destroyed an arrogant arristocrflcy. It has 
touched the poor white maa rf- 'he South 
wiih that magic wand — liberty. I' has spo- 
ken in his ear that magic word — education. 
It has dissipated tl^e clouds of Eupersiition 
and . broken the chains of the ty- 
ranny that oppressed them, and it 
has vindicated the sublime truth "that al 
men are created equal. ' It has demonstra' 
ted the power of republican government 
[Applause.] It has forever idiluted that 
monarchcial lie* that a republic does not 
possess the inherent power of maintaining 
its own existence. [Applause.] It Las 



elevated us in our own, and in the estima" 
tion of all foreign powers. It has rendered 
our flng holier and more august. It has 
raised us to the po.'^itioaof the fir.-tpoweron 
the face of the earth. [Applause.] It has ani- 
hiJated forever that, heretical dogma of 
state "sovereignty," and it has established 
the- fact that in the air of the western 
hemisphere there shall float but one flag. 
[Applnu.se.] 

It is for you, the people, to ssy whether 
these majestic results of ihe war shall be 
maintaiopd. To accomplish these results, 
the patriotic Democrat and Republican 
shotildered their muskets, and marched to 
tbe fifld of carnage, and toueht with sub- 
ime heroism side fey side. God and mans 
kind will bless them forever. And to 
maintain these results, the patriotic Demo> 
crat snd R-publican should mvrch every- 
where to the po Is, and together deposit that 
potent insirument 

"_Which falls 
As soft as snow-flikes on the sod, 

And executes a freein.iii's w II 
/,s ligh'nings do the will of Grod." 
Oar goveruii'wat being fi'ffily established 
upon tbese great principles, we will have 
seen but chc iiawn of its gr-atness, its glo- 
ry and its grandeur. The dny is not far 
distaut when a hundred miilioDS of -eople 
will erjoy the 1 Tessicgs of peace, prosperi~ 
ty ana liberty, under the ample folds of 
our flig Liberty, latelligenea and Frater- 
nity — divine trinity — will then bind the 
people together in eternal binds of ami*y; 
atad with one voice, like a mighty diapa- 
son, they will thank the heroic army of 
freedom th-vt trampled beneath theirindi;^- 
nant feet slavery and its legions. Then, 
the 0|ipres3ed of the earth, gathering 
streniith, corfidence and inspiration trora 
us, will crush despotism and tyranny into 
dust, and unturi the emblem of liberty over 
a redeemed arid regenfnted world. 
" Hiisten the day, just heaven ! 

Accomplish thy design ; 
And let the bless-ngs f'ou hast freely given. 

Freely on all lae^. shine; 
'Till equal rights be equally ergov'd, 
And human puwerfor human good employ'*! ; 
'Till law, and not the suvcre ^n, rule sustain, 
Atid peace and virtu-j t;ndisputed reign." 
[ fLankiDg the audience tor their atten- 
tion, the speaker retired amid long con- 
tinued applause.] 



Boston, March 30, 1865. 

Dear Sir, — I send with this a pamphlet containing the speeches of Hon. William 
D. Kelley, Wendell Phillips, and Frederick Douglass, also articles from the pens 
of Elizur Wright and William Heighton, on the necessity of making all men equal 
before the law ; and ask your careful perusal of it 

Mr. Kelley shows us, that, in the early years of our Government, the free negro vrtts 
allowed a vote in nearly all the States, including most of the Slave States. Mr. Phillips and 
Mr. Douglass call attention to the necessity and justice of this measure ; and Mr. Wright and 
Mr. Heighton, to the political and economical considerations that should induce us to "■rant it. 

I am distributing 10,000 copies to antislavery men in all the Free States ; but, desiring 
to increase the number to 100,000 or more, invite you to aid its circulation, on the follow- 
ing plan : — 

If you will send me what money you can spare for this object, I will forward you, free 
of postage, such number as you may send for at the rate of twenty copies for every dollar, 
or one hundred copies for every four dollars, sent me ; which is less than the cost of publi- 
cation. Or if you will send me names, with post-office address, I will send them direct 
in your name. If you send me money without specific directions, I will distribute them 
according to my best ability, and advise you of the distribution when made. 

Truly your friend, 

GEO. L. STEARNS. 



"I"'" 



w< 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 744 484 7 



